A program is broadcast by a program provider to audience members (persons referred to hereinafter as “viewers” or “participants”). The “program” can be audio and/or video, commercial (e.g. advertisement) and/or non-commercial (e.g. a TV show), and is obtained as a programming signal (e.g. a television signal) from a program signal source (e.g. a television station) originated by a program provider (e.g. an advertiser). The “broadcast” of the program can be over the airwaves, cable, satellite, or any other signal transmission medium. An “audience” for such program reproduction is constituted of the viewers who perceive the program.
The program is “performed” by any reproduction equipment which results in some form of output that is perceptible to human beings, the most common being video and audio. The “reproduction equipment” is any and all types of units to convert a broadcast signal into human perceptible form. The audience can be described as being “tuned” to a program when the signal source is a TV or radio broadcast station.
Advertisers who choose to broadcast their commercials develop a marketing strategy which includes, for example, selection of certain marketing areas, the media (e.g. radio, television, cable, satellite) to advertise in for those marketing areas, the stations to use, how frequently to place the advertisements, and at what time of day. The advertising costs are affected by each of these selections.
Once the marketing strategy has been decided upon and is in the process of being implemented, the advertisers are interested in knowing if their commercials have been broadcast to the viewing or listening public in accordance with the schedule contracted for with the television station, for example. Thus, if the advertiser paid for 10 broadcasts of his commercial he wishes to insure that all 10 were in fact broadcast. Likewise, if the advertiser paid for the 10 broadcasts of his commercial to occur on Sunday, he wishes to insure that all 10 were in fact broadcast on Sunday. Similarly, if the advertiser paid for at least some of the broadcasts of his commercial to be in prime time, he wishes to make sure that none were shown in the early morning hours when viewership is considerably lower.
With some marketing strategies, advertisers chose to have their commercials broadcast on different radio and television stations at overlapping times. This is done to increase the likelihood that their commercials will be seen or heard by as many people as possible at any given time, even if channel switching occurs. With the use of this advertising tactic, it is important for advertisers to know on which stations at any given time their commercial was being viewed or listened to the most and, conversely, on which stations at any given time their commercial was being viewed or listened to the least. With such information the advertiser can fine-tune the marketing strategy to drop those stations which are not cost-effective.
Further, advertisers also typically want to know if their time-sensitive commercials are being viewed or listened to before a critical deadline. For example, a bookstore owner pays for a series of commercials that advertise a famous author will be signing books on a particular date at a particular time. The advertiser would like to know if the commercials are being seen (or heard) by the public before the event, rather than afterwards, as would be the case when a person sees the commercial time-shifted on a recording device, such as a VCR.